/ Conferences
Singapore Coking Coal Conference 2025
May 29-30, 2025 | Sands Expo & Convention Centre, Singapore
/ Conferences
/ Conferences
May 29-30, 2025 | Sands Expo & Convention Centre, Singapore
/ Conferences
The EU's proposal to extend its safeguards on 26 product categories of steel imports until June 30, 2026, has been greeted warily by attendees at the Eurometal Nordics event being held in Oslo this week, with many noting in particular that the planned 15% restriction on above-quota imports from any individual country would likely be a concern.The planned cap for any individual exporter on hot-rolled sheets and strips would result in those countries that have traditionally shipped higher volumes into the EU needing to cut deliveries or incur higher duty costs for the importers taking their volumes.One Finnish market participant told S&P Global Commodity Insights on the sidelines of the Oslo event that the industry was holding talks with the Finnish government about concerns on the safeguard extension, with the 15% restriction the main issue."The fact that a 15% restriction on imports of hot-rolled coils under the remaining quarterly quota is proposed now at such short notice without taking into consideration what material is on the port is bad," another source from a large distributor company based in Spain told Commodity Insights. "I think the European Commission knowing that the current rules were expiring at the end of the year...should have communicated this six months before to allow players in the market to analyze the situation.""I think this new restriction overall will help the prices to go up, but a spike in prices is not good and will not be healthy for small traders," a source from a large trading company based in the UK said, adding that the move would impact smaller companies in the market in particular.However, one German trader told Commodity Insights that the European steel industry needed protections in order to stabilize the negative market situation, adding that the proposal had already failed to lift prices and boost sentiment. The price of HRC has been stable for a month, the source said.Platts, part of Commodity Insights, assessed HRC at Eur630/mt ex-works Ruhr June 4, stable on the day but down Eur135/mt from the highest point so far this year on Jan. 30, when it reached Eur765/mt.
China has set quotas for the first batch of rare earth mining and smelting in 2024 at 135,000 mt and 127,000 mt, respectively, raising the quota volume for both the operations from the last year's first-batch quotas, according to a Feb. 6 statement from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the Ministry of Natural Resources.Rare earth metals are about a group of 17 elements that are considered highly critical for energy transition. China leads the global rare earth sector in terms of production and refining technologies.With China's dominance, it controls its rare earth supply through the closely watched quota system.The quotas for rare earth mining and smelting for 2024 are 12.5% and 10.4% higher, respectively, from the first batch quota released in March 2023.But despite a sharp year-on-year rise in 2024 quota, the increase was still below than the 19% and 18.3% year-on-year increase witnessed for the first batch quota for mining and smelting, respectively, for 2023, S&P Global Commodity Insights calculations showed.The quota for medium to heavy rare earths saw a decline of 7.3% year on year, which highlighted its scarcity and strategic position, China's ministries said in the statement. Meanwhile, the quota of light rare earths saw an increase of 14.5% from the previous year.The total mining and smelting output quota in 2023 reached 255,000 mt and 243,850 mt, up 21.4% and 20.7%, respectively, from a year earlier, according to ministry data.Rare earth is a product subject to total production control and management by the state, and no enterprise or individual can produce it without or beyond the quota, according to the statement.Rare earth metals like neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium are key to the production of permanent magnets used in electric vehicles (EVs) and wind turbines.China is also the world's largest consumer and importer of rare earth metals.China imported 175,853 mt of rare earth metals in 2023, up 45% from a year earlier, according to China's latest customs data. At the same time, China exported 52,307 mt of rare earth metals, up 7.3% from a year ago.
The Energy Evolution podcast explores the challenges and changes facing the transition to cleaner energy. One challenge is obtaining the materials necessary for the transition, such as lithium, copper, and rare earth metals. Space mining is a potential solution, with companies investing in research and development to mine asteroids and other celestial bodies for valuable metals and resources like water. The technology for space mining is in its early stages, and there are challenges, such as logistical and ethical considerations. Reporters from the SP Global Commodity Insights team, Karl Decena, Kip Keen and Eri Silva, also discussed the potential impact of space mining on terrestrial markets and the need for regulatory frameworks for space mining.Related articles:Digging Space: Miners to ignite race for outer space oreDigging Space: Galactic gold rush begins with fewer rules than the Wild WestTune in to Energy Evolution to stay up-to-date on the energy transition and its implications. The show is co-hosted by veteran journalists Dan Testa and Taylor Kuykendall.More listening options:
Asian aluminum markets continue to see lackluster demand and ample stocks pressuring premiums, though the sporadic reopening of the Chinese import arbitrage window is providing support across the region.Further upstream in the alumina markets, flat demand remains a drag on prices globally, but cost pressures and output curtailments are keeping significant declines at bay.As the market looks at what’s ahead for 2024, YuenCheng Mok, Senior Managing Editor of Asia nonferrous metals at SP Global Commodity Insights discusses the key developments in the Asian alumina and aluminum markets with Jenson Ong and Germaine Lee from the Asia nonferrous metals team, and Lucy Tang, market specialist for Metals.In this podcast, find out what’s in-store in the near term for these markets.Related prices:Alumina FOB AustraliaAlumina FOB Brazil differentialAlumina ex-works ChinaAluminum CIF Main Japanese Ports (MJP) premiumAluminum CIF Main Asian Ports (MAP) premiumMore listening options:
Listen now as Dr Srini Godavarthy, CEO, Li-Metal Corporation discusses on the nomination for the Global Energy Awards Energy Transition - Technology of the Year Finalist award! For a quarter century, we have been honored to recognize the energy sector’s exponential growth and rapid progress. As the world comes together to tackle climate change issues at COP28, we are gathering the industry to acknowledge the companies and individuals working on the crucial, innovative, practicable solutions that will solve those problems. Shine a spotlight on your organization’s accomplishments and join us this December 7th in New York City, USA to celebrate the many achievements and successes of the global energy community. Learn more now
MARCH | Houston, TX
Established in 1985, the World Petrochemical Conference is the premier assembly of industry leaders, global experts and government officials convening for thought-provoking dialogue and in-depth discussions around the major strategic issues facing all…
